Feb. 28, 2014

• Complete Results  |  Complete Results   |  Photos

GENEVA, Ohio -- Reed Connor questioned whether he would be able to compete this season during to an injury-riddled fall filled with nagging injuries that didn't allow him to train the way he wanted to.

If he didn't already have his answer, what transpired Friday certainly gave it to him.

Connor added to an already-stellar indoor season, making a remarkable push late in the 3000 meters to win the event in 7 minutes, 51.78 seconds, a time that ranks fifth in the NCAA this year and sixth in UW history indoors. Connor's effort helped the No. 4-ranked Wisconsin men's track and field leave the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, locked in a first-place tie with Nebraska, totaling 41.50 points through five events on the first day of the 2014 Big Ten Indoor Championships.

Connor sat in fifth place for much of the race, patiently running behind the lead pack and teammate Mohammed Ahmed, who went on to finish fourth in 7:54.22. With two laps to go, Connor made his move around the outside, climbed up to fourth with 200 meters to go and picked off Ahmed with 100 meters left to claim the title.

Redshirt freshman Malachy Schrobilgen, who won the 2013 Big Ten title in cross country, placed seventh in a personal-best 7:58.76 and became just the 12th athlete in school history to break the 8-minute threshold.

"I was not expecting to have to run a 7:51," Connor said of his personal-best time. "That was the fastest I've ever had to run.

"Thankfully I'm blessed with a kick that not many people have in the Big Ten this year. That was my weapon today and it worked."

Connor, who became Wisconsin's ninth Big Ten champion in the 3000 meters, just missed out on the meet record of 7:50.97, set by former Badger Maverick Darling, who won the event a year ago. Connor will look to claim another title Saturday in the 5000 meters, an event in which he leads the nation and has the fourth-fastest mark in the world in 2014.

"The last four weeks I've been able to put together a string of races that I've never done before," he said. "We'll see how long it can last and hopefully (Saturday) will bring good things again and I can take this momentum on to nationals."

But Connor's priority is helping his team achieving a feat he personally has never been a part of: winning a conference title indoors.

"Every race is about getting the most points I can for the Badgers and executing my plan," Connor said. "Being a Big Ten individual champion is nice, but I've done that. I've never won the team title indoors. I wasn't on the team last year, I was redshirting. So that really is what my goal is this year.

"I will do the same thing tomorrow, hopefully get as many points as I can for the team.

Trio terrific on first day of heptathlon
Personal records for the Badgers came early and often on the first day of competition, starting with Zach Ziemek, Japheth Cato and Charlie Foss in the heptathlon. Ziemek used three personal bests to sit atop the heptathlon standings with a personal-best first-day total of 3,312 points. Cato, the three-time defending Big Ten heptathlon champion, is currently third with 3,261 points, 30 back of Michigan State's Kurt Schneider for second.

Foss finished the day fifth with 3,051 points, a day-one personal best, by setting personal records in two events and matching a PR in another. Penn State's Robert Cardina currently sits fourth with 3,232 points.

Ziemek started the day off with a bang, winning the 60 meters in 6.91 seconds, setting a school record for the heptathlon 60 by breaking the 7.01 mark he previously shared with Cato.

Foss matched his personal record with his seventh-place finish (7.15), while Cato placed eighth (7.21).

Cato followed up that performance with a victory in the long jump, leaping 24 feet, 1 inch, while Ziemek finished right behind in second in a personal-best 23-10 1/4. Foss chose a good time to have his best leap of his career, launching 22-7; good for seventh place.

The Wisconsin trio then dominated the shot put, going 1-2-3 in the event and each setting a personal record in the process. Cato finished first with a heave of 44-3 1/4, twice breaking his personal best of 43-4 1/2. Ziemek was second, (43-9 1/4) and Foss came in third (43-7).

In the high jump, the fourth and final heptathlon event of the day, Cato cleared 6-9, Ziemek leaped 6-8, while Foss jumped 6-4 1/4 to finish second, sixth and ninth, respectively.

The heptathlon concludes with three events Saturday, beginning with the 60 hurdles at 9 a.m. (CT), followed by the pole vault and 1000 meters.

Cato's day wasn't done with the heptathlon, as the senior also competed in the pole vault and long jump. Cato leaped 23-11 3/4 in the long jump to place third and also cleared 16-5 1/4 to finish 10th in the pole vault. Redshirt freshman Jesse Johnson, who vaulted to a personal-best height of 17-3 at last week's Red & White Open, finished sixth (16-9 1/4) in his first Big Ten meet.

In the shot put, All-American Danny Block looked to defend his shot put title from a year ago. Coming off his season-best and conference-leading throw of 64-1 3/4 at the Red & White Open, the senior was throwing with confidence. His heave of 62-10, which ranks fifth in school history, was good for a runner-up finish. Block owns 13 of the top 15 shot put marks in UW history.

Michigan State's Antonio Brown won the event with facility-record throw of 65-4 3/4.

Setting the stage for Saturday
Senior sprinter Babatunde Awosika doubled in the 200 and 400 meters, setting personal records in both. Awosika began the day by finishing 10th in the 400 in 47.49, which placed him 10th on UW's all-time indoor list but left him just one hundredth of a second short of a spot in Saturday's final.

Not to be deterred, Awosika blazed through the 200, finishing runner-up in his heat and seventh overall in 21.40, the fifth-best time in school history indoors, to qualify for the final.

In the middle distance events, Alex Hatz, Austin Mudd, Tyler Woloszyk and Ryan Davis each performed well enough in their preliminary races to qualify for the finals.

In the mile, Hatz ran like a veteran despite making his season debut, winning his heat and placing third overall in 4:07.26 to automatically advance. Hatz owns the third-fastest indoor mile in UW history, running the event in 3:58.68 in 2012.

Mudd also won his heat of the 800 to earn an automatic bid to the finals, finishing runner-up in 1:51.36. In the 600 meters, senior Tyler Woloszyk managed to advance to Saturday's finals by finishing ninth in 1:18.24.

The quartet of Mudd, Awosika, Carl Hirsch and Hatz concluded the day with the distance medley relay.  The race was tight throughout and the Badgers earned a runner-up finish in 9:46.46, just a second behind champion Penn State.

Wisconsin will look to build off an impressive first-day performance on Saturday in an attempt to defend their Big Ten indoor title from a year ago.